The imperial examination system is the one that the imperial government adopted to select officials in ancient China. It was first put into practice in the Sui Dynasty and lasted more than
1300 years until the Qing Dynasty, enjoying a long and dominant position in the history of ancient Chinese education. In the ancient society, because of the strong class consciousness, few people from lower classes had the chance to get any position in the government. The "keju" evaluation system offered opportunities to children from poor families to attend the government exams and bring honor to their families. This system proved to be fairer and more far-reaching than any other examination system existing before it.